The Struggle In Joseph Boyden's Three Day Road

Sister Magdalene and Niska are authority figures for Xavier and Elijah, and their lessons follow the boys throughout Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden. Niska teaches Xavier the strength and necessity of killing but not the desire to kill, while Sister Magdalene’s abuse strips Elijah of compassion and fuels his need for murder to regain his sense of power. Elijah’s experiences with Sister Magdalene teach him to talk his way out of trouble, which leads to his success overseas. Xavier’s heritage and Niska’s lessons in survival result in Xavier’s homecoming, while Elijah’s experiences with abuse, emasculation, and lack of family guidance lead to his death in Europe.
Niska is unaware of her effect on Elijah as a mother figure, and as a boy Elijah
By taking in Xavier and refusing Elijah when he says he would like to live with them in the bush Niska imparts in Elijah the drive to demonstrate his abilities. Niska’s rejection of Elijah to live with her and Xavier causes a feeling of inadequacy in Elijah. Throughout the novel, Elijah tries to prove himself better than Xavier, prove himself to the Frenchmen, and prove that he has control. Elijah often refers to Xavier as “heathen” in conversations, to immediately show that he is more educated than Xavier. Elijah implies that not knowing English is uncultured, and he insults Xavier when he says that “you wouldn’t know that, considering you’re a heathen” after they pass a sign that Xavier is unable to read (163). He often speaks for Xavier, whether it is wanted or not, and usually in a condescending way, as if Xavier were a child. An instance where Elijah makes Xavier sound childish and foreign is after Xavier has gone AWOL, and Elijah makes the excuse of head trauma and that “Private Bird is somewhat fearful of the English form of medicine. He is used to a much more primitive practice of healing…he is disorientated, afraid” (256). Elijah tries to show superiority over Xavier to the Lieutenant, implying that Elijah disagrees with the Cree form of medicine and that he is mentally stronger that Xavier. Elijah knows that he can spin a lie for Xavier, so he will not let Xavier speak for himself. Where Xavier is more skillful in the bush, Elijah rises in rank in Europe, and uses the unintended lesson Niska leaves with him to do